


what morning may bring

by andnowforyaya



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Office, KiHo Bingo, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 07:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11077296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andnowforyaya/pseuds/andnowforyaya
Summary: When Hoseok first transferred over to the same team as Kihyun in the office, he noticed the quiet, diligent worker who accepted praise with a small hum and criticism with just a stern determination to do better. Hoseok respects that about Kihyun: his calm, his grit, his determination. Plus, sometimes he sticks his tongue out of the corner of his mouth if he’s concentrating very hard on a project and Hoseok finds this extremely adorable.Unfortunately, Kihyun has a boyfriend.Well -- had.





	what morning may bring

**Author's Note:**

> for the 'loneliness' square on my kihobingo card

“Kihyun,” Hoseok asks from just outside the door to the bathroom, “are you okay in there?”

Kihyun makes a gagging noise that seems to reverberate inside the stall, and Hoseok winces, hating the sound of someone about to be sick. “False alarm,” Kihyun slurs back loudly when nothing follows the noise. A moment later the sound of the toilet flushing reaches Hoseok’s ears, and then the faucet running. Hoseok breathes a sigh of relief. As intoxicated as Kihyun is, he still has the sense to wash his hands, so he can’t be that far gone.

Hoseok has been watching him all night. But not in a creepy way. Just -- watching. Noticing. The whole office is out to celebrate surpassing their monthly sales goals, and light drinks quickly turned into dinner and then more drinks at a different bar and now the team is at a noraebang.

And earlier today, Hoseok overheard Kihyun and Minhyuk chatting in the cubicle next to his about Kihyun’s boyfriend.

Well, ex-boyfriend, from the sounds of it. And Hoseok hadn't meant to overhear. It's just that Minhyuk has a voice that really carries, and the cubicle walls don't even go up to the ceiling! Kihyun didn’t seem too devastated when he was chatting with Minhyuk but that is just how he is. When Hoseok first transferred over to the same team as Kihyun in the office, he noticed the quiet, diligent worker who accepted praise with a small hum and criticism with just a stern determination to do better. Hoseok respects that about Kihyun: his calm, his grit, his determination. Plus, sometimes he sticks his tongue out of the corner of his mouth if he’s concentrating very hard on a project and Hoseok finds this extremely adorable.

Unfortunately, Kihyun has a boyfriend.

Well -- had.

Anyway, Minhyuk had to leave noraebang celebrations to let his roommate into their apartment because the other man lost his keys -- again -- so Hoseok is here, minding Kihyun even though no one asked him to, just because.

The door opens with a whoosh, and Hoseok startles, taking a tiny step back. Kihyun stands in the doorway, blinking at Hoseok, his black hair mussed and the top two buttons of his white shirt unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Hoseok’s shirt is in the same state, but somehow the look on Kihyun makes the smaller man seem extra rumpled. Maybe it's the hooded eyes and ruddy cheeks, the true and unmistakable stereotypical image of an intoxicated salary man.

“Thanks for taking me to the bathroom,” Kihyun says, all of his words bleeding into each other. He sways in his spot, and Hoseok reaches out to steady him.

“Jeez, Kihyun,” Hoseok scolds lightly as they begin to walk back to the room where the rest of their team is singing loudly and drunkenly, “how much did you drink? I didn’t think you drank that much.”

“The problem is,” Kihyun announces, leaning on Hoseok heavily and giggling, “I don’t normally drink. So one drink is, like, one drink is like--” He holds up three fingers with some difficulty. “--Like three for you! For me? One drink is the same as three?”

A hostess carrying a tray of empty glasses moves deftly to the side of the dimly lit hall to let them pass, and Hoseok nods at her in silent thanks, throwing his arm around Kihyun’s waist to help keep him upright. They pass a couple of rooms on either side of them with all kinds of occupants: a small group of young schoolgirls avoiding studying for their exams, a couple who have a huge room all to themselves and are serenading each other, other office workers in various states of drunkenness. “I get it," Hoseok assures Kihyun. "And how many did you have?”

“Three!” Kihyun chirps proudly.

“You’re such a lightweight.”

“Hey,” Kihyun says, “don't be mean. How come we never talk? We’re on the same team but we never talk. You sit across from me but I hardly ever see your face.”

“Just stand up every once in awhile to look over the barrier.”

“I’m too short,” Kihyun says with a pout. A cute pout. Hoseok bites the inside of his cheek and drags them the last few steps to the door of their room. “Nooo,” Kihyun whines, clutching at Hoseok’s arm. “I don’t wanna go back inside. They’ll make me sing a ballad, and I don’t wanna sing any love songs.”

Hoseok hangs back, letting Kihyun squeeze his arm. The other man’s hands stay curled around Hoseok’s bicep, rubbing lightly. “Are you always like this when you’re drunk?” Hoseok asks.

“Ask Minhyukkie,” Kihyun says.

“Minhyuk left a little bit ago, remember?” Hoseok says, leaning back against the wall next to the room door.

Kihyun mirrors him, leaning back also, just a bit shorter than Hoseok, eyes bright and cheeks rosy. He pouts again. “He was supposed to stay. You know, my boyfriend broke up with me today.”

“I know,” Hoseok says without thinking. Kihyun looks at him questioningly, and Hoseok stammers, “I -- I overheard, I mean. I’m sorry about that.”

“About him breaking up with me? Or about overhearing?” Kihyun’s eyes are suddenly piercing.

Someone this intoxicated shouldn’t be able to ask such questions so pointedly, Hoseok thinks, but he says, finally, “About overhearing.”

Kihyun nods, hums to himself, and says, “Do you want to get out of here?”

.

They end up at another bar, sub-level and grungy and not a place Hoseok would have expected Kihyun to gravitate towards, though he supposes he’s learning things about Kihyun he never thought he’d have a chance to, before. Kihyun orders them a bottle of soju to split, spicy garlic fried chicken, and two beers.

“You still want to drink?” Hoseok asks when the server first brings them the alcohol they had ordered. The chairs they are sitting in are rickety, and Hoseok is a little worried Kihyun’s going to topple right out of his seat.

“Just a little more,” Kihyun cheers, clapping his hands together like a kid who's won a huge stuffed animal at a carnival.

They play a drinking game that involves counting by fives and betting and luck, and soon enough the soju is half gone and Kihyun’s tongue keeps tripping over itself trying to form words.

“Slow down,” Hoseok laughs, resisting the urge to reach out across the table to hold Kihyun’s hand.

“I thought I was good at this game,” Kihyun says, “but I guess Hyunwoo just always let me win.” He takes his consequence shot of soju and slams the glass back down onto the table, scrunching his face as the alcohol travel down his throat. Then he puts his elbows onto the table and throws his face into his hands. Hoseok, alarmed, does reach out and touch him, just lightly, just the inside of his elbow, to remind him he’s there. “I’m fine,” Kihyun says thickly. “It’s fine. I’m just -- what an asshole.”

“Yeah, what an asshole,” Hoseok agrees though he doesn’t know Hyunwoo at all.

“Not him,” Kihyun protests. “Me.”

“Hey, hey,” Hoseok says softly, urging Kihyun to let his hands fall from his face. “I don’t think you’re an asshole.”

“You’ve only spent one day with me,” Kihyun says behind his hands, sniffling.

“Yeah, and one day is enough for me to know you’re not an asshole,” Hoseok assures him.

Kihyun scrubs at his face and sniffles some more and then finally lets his hands down, and his eyes are glistening and his cheeks are still pink and Hoseok feels a knot form in the pit of his stomach because he realizes he thinks Kihyun is beautiful, even like this. Especially like this -- vulnerable and aching and soft, such a counter to the persona he keeps up at work.

“You’re so cheesy,” is what Kihyun says with a small laugh, rolling his shoulders and getting ready for another round of their game. “C’mon, I’ll win this time.”

.

Hoseok puts his jacket over Kihyun’s shoulders because Kihyun is shivering and has somehow lost his own jacket between the bar and the bus stop but still held onto his essentials: keys, wallet, phone. He guides Kihyun to the bench at the stop under a flickering street light and tells him to stay awake, to which Kihyun promptly passes out and Hoseok has to catch him by the shoulders to keep him from crashing into the ground.

Luckily, there is only one old lady waiting at the same bus stop, but she only gives them both a disapproving glare before minding her own business. Hoseok, ever polite, smiles back at her and apologizes for the inconvenience with his eyes. He sits down next to Kihyun and, after much internal conflict, brings Kihyun’s head to his shoulder to rest there, finding the way Kihyun smacks his lips in satisfaction too cute for his own well-being.

The thing is, Hoseok has had a crush on Kihyun ever since day one. And then ever since day one, hour three, he knew Kihyun was off-limits. But ever since about seven hours ago to Hoseok’s knowledge, Kihyun was single again. That doesn’t make him up for grabs, and anyway Hoseok hates that kind of thinking, because it makes it seem like he considers Kihyun like a piece of meat going on sale or something, but the fact of the matter is that Kihyun is single. And resting on Hoseok’s shoulder, and smacking his lips every few seconds and snuggling against Hoseok’s arm, and wrapping his hands around Hoseok’s bicep.

“Are you punishing me?” Hoseok asks the heavens, looking up at the night sky, before remembering he doesn’t really believe in god. Something up there is playing this big trick on him, though. Giving him what he’s wanted for so long when he knows he can’t -- shouldn’t -- act on it. He nudges Kihyun with his shoulder, jostling him. “Hey, wake up. The bus should be here soon.”

Kihyun whines and snuggles closer, his hair tickling Hoseok’s neck. “Just carry me,” he mumbles.

“I’m not going to carry you. You’re a grown man.”

“Please, Hyunwoo-yah,” Kihyun says. “You’ve got muscles so you should use them.”

Hoseok sighs with defeat. “Kihyun,” he says gently. “I’m not Hyunwoo.”

This rouses Kihyun, finally. Hoseok feels Kihyun’s grip loosening from around his arm, and his weight leaves his shoulder as Kihyun sits up straighter. “Oh,” Kihyun says sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Hoseok says with a heavy heart.

They stay separated by a few inches as they wait, though Hoseok sneaks glances at Kihyun, who is trying to stay conscious and not doing very well at all. The third time Kihyun almost nods off, Hoseok takes pity on him and tells him to rest, tapping his own shoulder again to offer it up as a pillow. Kihyun takes the offer, though slowly, muttering a quiet, “thank you,” before closing his eyes. Moments later, he’s out.

This presents itself as a problem when the bus arrives, and Kihyun won’t wake. Pushing down any sense of pride Hoseok has within him, he pulls Kihyun onto his back and boards the bus, dumping Kihyun as gently into a seat as he can and ignoring the looks from the other passengers and the bus driver when he accidentally smacks Kihyun's head against the window.

.

The other problem is that Hoseok doesn’t know where Kihyun lives. So he disembarks at his own stop with Kihyun draped over his back and makes the slow, uphill trek to his apartment. By the time he reaches his front door, he’s wheezing for breath. Hoseok regularly works out and lifts weights, but even then, walking uphill for about half a mile with a full-grown (though petite) man on his back is no easy feat. Kihyun groans when Hoseok lets him slide off his back at his front door, propping Kihyun to stand against the wall, so he can dig into his back pockets for his keys before remembering they are in his jacket that he's lent to Kihyun to wear. Apologizing, he reaches into the pockets of the jacket around Kihyun's body to bring out his keys, and Kihyun mumbles, “Are we home?”

“It’s Hoseok,” he reminds Kihyun as he opens his front door. “I don’t know where you live, so, um, I thought it would be okay if you wanted to stay over. You can take the bed. I’ll take the couch.”

“I’ll take the couch,” Kihyun announces, almost like he just wants to be contrary, tripping over the entrance and stepping out of his shoes. He manages to pair his shoes up and set them aside neatly before shucking Hoseok’s jacket to the floor and plopping headfirst onto Hoseok’s couch in his living room.

“I’ll get you some water,” Hoseok says. “And maybe a shirt you can change into if you want.”

Hoseok goes into his bedroom first, picking up his jacket along the way and hanging it in his closet, and then he changes quickly into an old t-shirt and sweats and finds another shirt of his that he thinks will fit Kihyun's smaller frame. Then he goes to the kitchen for two glasses of water. When he returns to the couch, he fully expects to find Kihyun asleep again, but the man is awake, lying on his side and staring at him with a discerning gaze as Hoseok sits on the edge of the cushion. Hoseok's cheeks begin to warm; he feels transparent under Kihyun's scrutiny.

Kihyun sits up and takes the water that Hoseok offers. He downs it all in one go, throat bobbing, a trickle of water escaping from the corner of his lips. Hoseok looks away.

“Thank you,” Kihyun says, wiping at his face with the back of his hand. “For tonight.”

Hoseok opens his mouth to say something but is stopped by Kihyun pressing his finger to Hoseok’s lips. “Shh,” Kihyun says. “Your lips…”

Hoseok feels the existing blush on his cheeks deepen. Kihyun’s hair is still a mess and his clothes are hardly even really on his body anymore but Hoseok is still kind of wild over him. Even more than he was before.

Kihyun leans in so close, peering at Hoseok from under his lashes, and then he says, “They look like sausages.” And then he’s kissing Hoseok, messy and wet, and Hoseok wants this so much but he also doesn’t want this at all.

“Woah, woah,” he says, pushing Kihyun away gently and shaking his head. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Kihyun looks devastated, and Hoseok’s heart squeezes in his chest painfully. “What? Why not? What’s wrong?”

Hoseok shakes his head again, needing to convince himself as much as Kihyun. “You just broke up with your boyfriend. We’ve both been drinking tonight. It’s just -- not a good idea. I like you, and I don’t want us to regret anything about tonight.”

A pause as the words pass through the air and into Kihyun's brain. Then, to his utter confusion, Kihyun’s face breaks into a grin. Hoseok’s eyes widen as Kihyun says, “You like me?”

“Uh,” Hoseok says, panicked. “Well, that is.”

“Hm,” Kihyun says. “I guess you’re right. Don’t want to do anything we’ll regret. Don’t want to be rash. But you’ll still like me in the morning, right?”

“What? Um, yeah, I suppose.”

“Then let’s go to sleep and then we can do something about this in the morning.”

“Something…?” Hoseok questions, but Kihyun is already lying back down and pulling the throw blanket Hoseok keeps on the couch over his shoulders.

“Good night, hyung,” Kihyun says. “And thank you again. Really.” He yawns and closes his eyes. Hoseok isn’t sure if it’s the alcohol or the hour, but within seconds Kihyun is breathing deeply, even as Hoseok watches.

Stunned but curiously pleased, Hoseok stands and goes back into his bedroom. He washes his face and brushes his teeth. He gets into bed and pulls the covers up to his chin. He closes his eyes and wills himself to sleep, eager for what morning may bring.

.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading <3 kudos and comments are appreciated <3


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